Society and Culture

Shannon O’Neil will become director of the Council on Foreign Relations’ Civil Society, Markets, and Democracy program (CSMD), and Rachel Vogelstein will become director of the Women and Foreign Policy program (WFP), replacing Isobel Coleman, who formerly directed both initiatives. Ambassador Coleman is now the U.S. representative to the United Nations for UN management and reform.

Alfred C. Stepan, founding director of Columbia University’s Center for the Study of Democracy, Toleration, and Religion, discusses democracy and religious tolerance in Tunisia, as part of CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Initiative.

Alfred C. Stepan, founding director of Columbia University’s Center for the Study of Democracy, Toleration, and Religion, discusses democracy and religious tolerance in Tunisia, as part of CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Initiative.

Multicultural policies accept that societies are diverse, yet they implicitly assume that such diversity ends at the edges of minority communities. By forcing people into ethnic and cultural boxes, they help create the very divisions they were meant to manage.

Though data is scarce given conditions on the ground, reports of child marriage abound amid natural disaster and conflict; parents desperate to protect their daughters may view the practice as their best option. Gayle Tzemach Lemmon and Kristin Kim Bart discuss strategies to protect girls from child marriage and gender-based violence in fragile states.

Elliot L. Ackerman, author of Green on Blue: A Novel, Matthew Gallagher, author of Youngblood, and Michael Pitre, author of Fives and Twenty-Fives, join PEN American Center's Peter Godwin, to discuss the authors’ military experiences during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and what led each of them to write war-related novels.

Elliot L. Ackerman, author of Green on Blue: A Novel, Matthew Gallagher, author of Youngblood, and Michael Pitre, author of Fives and Twenty-Fives, join PEN American Center's Peter Godwin, to discuss the authors’ military experiences during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and what led each of them to write war-related novels.

Elliot L. Ackerman, author of Green on Blue: A Novel, Matthew Gallagher, author of Youngblood, and Michael Pitre, author of Fives and Twenty-Fives, join PEN American Center's Peter Godwin, to discuss the authors' military experiences during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and what led each of them to write war-related novels.

Elliot L. Ackerman, author of Green on Blue: A Novel, Matthew Gallagher, author of Youngblood, and Michael Pitre, author of Fives and Twenty-Fives, join PEN American Center's Peter Godwin, to discuss the authors’ military experiences during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and what led each of them to write war-related novels.

Mary Evelyn Tucker, codirector of Yale University’s Forum on Religion and Ecology, discusses the role of faith-based organizations in global efforts to address climate change, as part of CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Conference Call series.

Mary Evelyn Tucker, codirector of Yale University’s Forum on Religion and Ecology, discusses the role of faith-based organizations in global efforts to address climate change, as part of CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Conference Call series.

Mary Evelyn Tucker, codirector of Yale University’s Forum on Religion and Ecology, discusses the role of faith-based organizations in global efforts to address climate change, as part of CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Conference Call series.

Clint Eastwood’s film American Sniper has become a popular if controversial sensation. Critics accuse it of glamorizing Navy SEAL sniper Chris Kyle, while many have rushed to Kyle’s and the movie’s defense. But one aspect of the debate has gone largely unexamined: How historically accurate is the film?

Provides research links to background information on the Middle East and U.S. policy towards the Middle East, including sections on news, government, data, and history, and resources for additional information on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict and the Arab Revolt.

The Munich Security Report was released on January 26, 2015, described in the press release as "an annual digest on critical questions and important trends in the field of international security policy." The first section of the report focuses on the roles of international actors, Germany, United States, Europe, NATO, Russia, and emerging powers. The second section discusses three "hot spots"-- Ukraine, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific. The third section reviews major issues such as terrorism, energy security, and refugee crises, and the fourth section suggests additional reading and research materials.

CFR Experts Guide

The Council on Foreign Relations' David Rockefeller Studies Program—CFR's "think tank"—is home to more than seventy full-time, adjunct, and visiting scholars and practitioners (called "fellows"). Their expertise covers the world's major regions as well as the critical issues shaping today's global agenda. Download the printable CFR Experts Guide.

New Council Special Reports

Campbell evaluates the implications of the Boko Haram insurgency and recommends that the United States support Nigerian efforts to address the drivers of Boko Haram, such as poverty and corruption, and to foster stronger ties with Nigerian civil society.

Koblentz argues that the United States should work with other nuclear-armed states to manage threats to nuclear stability in the near term and establish processes for multilateral arms control efforts over the longer term.

The authors argue that it is essential to begin working now to expand and establish rules and norms governing armed drones, thereby creating standards of behavior that other countries will be more likely to follow.

2014 Annual Report

Learn more about CFR’s mission and its work over the past year in the 2014 Annual Report. The Annual Report spotlights new initiatives, high-profile events, and authoritative scholarship from CFR experts, and includes a message from CFR President Richard N. Haass.Read and download »